A priest in North America, what the hell is the Demon Gate system?

"Could this be the secret passage to Sleeping Lake?! Father, I want to go down too!"

Allen had somehow gotten to the water's edge, staring at the dark underwater entrance with excitement written all over his face.

Li Ang was speechless for a moment, then turned to look at him: "What are you going down there for? To deliver takeout?"

"Jennifer is my girlfriend, I have to go save her!" Allen straightened his thin chest.

"Besides... those guys are annoying, but we can't just leave them like that... you know, even Spider-Man would go to save J. Jonah Jameson!"

Just as Li Ang was about to say something, a notification sound suddenly popped into his head.

[Ding! Sect Quest Triggered: Beautiful Water World]

[Mission Description: There is a suspected demon cultivator attacking people in the lake near the stronghold. Please protect the people at the stronghold and investigate the truth.]

[Task Reward: 50 Contribution Points, One Low-Tier Spell of Your Choice]

[Optional Side Quest: Traveling with fellow believers will grant an additional 20 contribution points]

Looking at the system interface, Li Ang thought to himself, "Oh well, I'll just treat it as showing the kids their eyes. I feel a bit like Doraemon."

"Are you really going?" he asked, turning to Allen.

"I'm going!" Allen nodded vigorously, his eyes shining.

"Father, the way you threw that stone was so cool! Just like the Hulk! Can I learn from you? I've heard that mysterious masters from the East like you take on disciples..."

Li Ang laughed in exasperation, said no more, and opened the system store with a thought.

[Water-Repelling Talisman (Basic)]: Creates a water-repelling shield on the body, lasting for one hour. Requires 5 contribution points to exchange.

[Blood Shield Charm (One-Time Use)]: Automatically activates upon encountering a fatal attack, blocking one instance of damage. Requires 10 contribution points to redeem.

"Exchange for two Water Repellent Talismans and one Blood Shield Talisman."

[20 contribution points consumed, 31 contribution points remaining]

He now held three yellowed talisman papers in his hand. The paper was rough, and twisted runes were drawn on them with cinnabar.

He walked up to Allen and slapped the water-repelling talisman onto the boy's chest.

"Huh? This is...?"

The talisman melted into the clothes the moment it touched them, like water seeping into a sponge.

Allen was so frightened that he looked down and touched his chest, turning around and around, but he couldn't feel anything.

"Blessed by the Lord."

Li Ang remained expressionless and casually affixed the blood shield talisman to Allen's back. The movement was so quick that Allen didn't even notice.

Then Li Ang stuck another water-repelling talisman on his chest, and the talisman disappeared into his clothes.

"Stay close to me," Li Ang said, stepping into the stream.

The stream water was very cold; it sent shivers down my spine as soon as it reached my ankles. Allen tried it and froze on the spot.

"Father, are we just going in like this?"

Li Ang didn't turn around, but simply said, "Didn't you want to be a superhero?"

Allen hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and followed.

Reaching the middle of the water, which had risen from knee-deep to neck-deep, the dark entrance was right in front of us, and a faint suction force emanated from below, making it difficult to stand steadily in the water.

Li Ang took a deep breath and grabbed Allen's arm.

Hold your breath.

"Huh? Wait! Father! I'm not ready yet—"

Li Ang pulled him down directly.

"Gurgle—"

Allen struggled instinctively, waving his hands wildly, and large bubbles came out of his mouth.

But just as the two were completely submerged in the water, a light blue membrane spread out from their chests, quickly enveloping their entire bodies, and the water they splashed into was instantly repelled.

The light film stops about one meter away from the skin, forming an oval-shaped bubble, completely isolating the water.

Allen stopped struggling and stared wide-eyed at his surroundings.

He stood on the mud and sand at the bottom of the water, feeling the real texture beneath his feet.

Looking up, you can see the shimmering water, surrounded by flowing streams. Small fish swim past the bubbles, curiously touching the shimmering membrane before quickly swimming away.

He himself... was breathing smoothly, his clothes were dry, and even his hair wasn't wet.

"This...this is..." Allen stammered, his mouth agape.

"It's just the Lord's blessing."

He released Allen's arm and tried walking underwater.

"This is...this is amazing!" Allen finally came to his senses, his voice filled with excitement.

"Is this magic? Or arcane magic? Where does the air in the bubbles come from? Will it run out? I..."

"Quiet, stay close to me."

Li Ang interrupted his rapid-fire speech and headed towards the entrance of the underwater cave.

Allen quickly shut up and followed, but his eyes were still looking around.

The cave entrance is larger than it appears from the water, with a diameter of nearly two meters.

Li Ang first scanned the area with his divine sense; it was pitch black inside, with nothing unusual.

Then he took out a high-powered flashlight, which he had taken from the railway construction site earlier. Wang Bingbing hadn't asked him to return it. It was of very good quality, and because it wasn't very big, he just happened to have it on him.

The flashlight illuminated part of the cave wall ahead. The cave walls were rough and uneven, covered with a layer of slippery algae, and had an eerie oily sheen.

"Wow, this is kind of like when I played Subnautica..." Li Ang couldn't help but exclaim.

"Let's go."

With a light leap, Li Ang sank into the cave. Allen swallowed hard and quickly followed.

Upon entering the cave, the temperature drops sharply. The entire cave is L-shaped, and after descending, there is a long cave tunnel.

The light was mostly swallowed by darkness, and the sound of water gurgling in the narrow space.

The rock face was rather narrow, forcing Allen to walk sideways, his elbows occasionally brushing against the rock.

"Father... this place... is a little scary," Allen whispered. Surprisingly, his voice could travel through the two water-repellent bubbles.

"It's not too late to go back now," Li Ang said without turning his head.

"No! No need! I was just... saying." Allen immediately straightened his back.

Li Ang didn't reply and continued walking forward.

The cave is not straight, but rather undulating, and generally faces Sleeping Lake.

After walking about thirty or forty meters, the space became increasingly narrow, and darkness pressed in from all directions.

Allen's breathing became noticeably heavier, and he began to frequently look back, as if worried that something might touch him from behind.

Li Ang was actually a little uncomfortable as well.

It wasn't fear, but rather a familiar melody playing in my mind.

In his previous life, during his university years, he had read many stories from Secret Garden about underwater cave exploration accidents. Those divers would get lost in the intricate caverns, run out of oxygen, and ultimately...

His soul returned to Kara.

He shook his head, banishing the image from his mind, and expanded his consciousness, realizing that he was at least not completely in the dark.

The pitch-black tunnel ahead suddenly became incredibly clear, revealing some narrow passages and dead ends, which could be easily detected within a 50-meter range of spiritual awareness.

"Since they were kidnapped from here, there must be enough space..."

Li Ang was inspecting the road when he suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong, Father?" Allen asked anxiously.

Li Ang didn't answer. He squatted down and stared at the crevice in the rock wall on his right, where a small thing was stuck, half buried in the mud and sand.

He used his flashlight to search for it, and the intense light made the thing appear deathly white.

It is a marker.

Allen leaned closer for a look, his expression changing: "This...this is Josh's! He's a very good artist, he always carries a marker with him, saying he needs to jot down inspiration...and he's probably going to use this..."

Li Ang rolled his eyes at him. "Wait, weren't you bullied at school? How come you seem to understand each other as well as their best friends do?"

While internally complaining, Li Ang put the marker into his storage ring.

Putting everything else aside, at least we found the right place.

The two continued on their way.

After walking for about ten more minutes, things finally changed ahead. The cave began to slope upwards, the slope was very gentle, but you could clearly feel that they were going up.

The light gradually brightened, and a vast expanse of water appeared before us.